Inflatable ball



. 1,621,043 March 15 1927 A, J. TURNER INFLATABLE BALL Filed May 29. 1925 M ///////////////4 mm atented Mar. l5, i927.

ARCHIBALD' J'. TURNER, OF CHICAGO, LLNOIS, ASSIGNOR TU WILSON-'WESTERN SPQRTING GODS COMPANY, 0F CHICAGO, ILLINGIS, A CORPORATION 0E' DELA- WM'E.

applicati@ fried may 29,

My inventionv relates to indatable balls,

and is concernedl with the provision of iinproved means for closing the bladder insertion opening of such a ball.

Certain types of inflatable balls, notably footballs, must or should be provided Wit an exposed lace or the like to afford a series of ridges on the exterior surface of the ball for engagement by the lingers of a player in effecting a pass. Heretofore the bladder insertion openings of such balls have been closed, and the said ridges afforded, by a lace passing through a plurality ot apertures in the margins of the bladder insertion opening of the ball cover. However, such laces as heretofore employed have been subject to the very` serious objection that they have caused the margins of the bladderinsertion 'opening to creep longitudinally ofjsuch opening and oppositely to each other, the result being a cover which Vis bunchy and unsightly at and adjacent to the bladder insertion opening. Moreover when the margins of the opening have crept relatively to each other, as aforesaid, the portions of 'ihe'lace crossing the line of the insertion opening on the outside of the cover have taken position oblique to the line of the in- Isei-tion opening, instead of extending directly across it at right angles as is desirable in 'order that the ball may be of good appear' ance and inl order that the exposed portions of the lace may be inost effective in facilitating hand passing of the ball.

It will be observed' that the cause of this creeping of the edges of the; slit relative to each other is due to the fact that when-the rows of holes are aligned so that each hole is directly opposite another hole and the lacing is put 1n place loosely in the usual manner, the exterior parts of the lacing will extend at right angles to the slit, and the interior portions of the lacing will extend diagonally relative to the slit and all in the same direction. When such a lace is pulled up, the exterior portions exert force at ri ht angles to theslit merely drawing the sit together, but the interior diagonal portions each exert resultant torce upon the edges of holes which are not directly opposite cach other, but which are oil set one. hole. This diagonal force may be resolved into two forces, one at right angles to the slit and one parallel to the slit, with the result-that the said interior diagonal portions Inman-Antin nam..

1926. Serial. No. 112,427.

not only draw the slit together, but tend to slide the portions of the cover composing the two walls of the slit in the direction of `the slit `until the rows of holes have reached such a position that' the exterior parts of the lace and the interior parts of the lace are both diagonal with equal angularity. 'lhis tendency of the lace to slide the edges of the slit is opposed by the tension placed upon other parts of the ball, as such creeping or sliding tends to distort the b all from its normal shape. By my invention, the interior portions 4ofl the lacing do notconsist of single diagonal tension members tending to slide the walls of the slit Irelative to each other,'but of diagonal tension members crossing each other exerting -balanced Aforcesron the. walls of lthe elite-in the direction of said slit and thereby maintaining the exterior portions ofthe lacing parallel and at right angles to the slit without any bulging of the walls of the slit at either end. In' accomplishing this result, it. i

is necessary to double the upper members of the lacing at a plurality of points, but not at all points, but I prefer to provide At-he exterior portions ot' the lacing with two plies ot' lacing at every point, thereby producing a uniform exterior surface.'

l I have devised lacing means 'fior closing` l the bladder insertion opening of a football or the like, which has the following very desirable characteristics:

(1) TheI lace when lproperly applied has no tendency to cause t e margins of the ini sertion opening to creep relatively to cach other.

(2) The portions of the lace which lie outside of the cover are parallel to each other and -at right Vangles to 'the abutting margins of the bladder insertion o ening.

(3) The ortions ot t c lace which lie outside of tie cover are sodis osed as to afl'ord pronounced two-ply ri ges which have been found very deslrable'and etl'ective from the standpoint of a player making a forward pass.

The improvements herein described are admirably adapted for incorporation in a ball (such as disclosed inmy co-pending application, Serial No. 24,337',- iled April 20,1925. which is capable of being inflated after the closure of the bladder insertion opening, but iis-Should be understood that the improvements of the present invention able manner.

-enforcing strips 12-12.

are not limited to footballs arranged to be so inflated.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating a preferred embodiment `of my invention, Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a football .embodying the improvements of the present invention,

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary interior plan view of the parts of the ball with which the present invention isparticularly concerned,

Fig. 3 1s an enlarged fragmentary sec-` The football shown in the drawing com. prises theV usual cover consisting of av plurality (usually 4) leather sections 10-10 which have their contiguous margins stitched together in the usual or any suit- For a short distance, ap-A proximately three or four inches, the contiguous margins of a pair of the cover members are left unstitched `to provide the bladder insertion opening 11. The bladder is not shown in the drawing, as my present invention is in no way concerned with the details thereof. `It will be understood that the bladder may be of the conventional type comprising a rubber inflating tube which is closed ad tucked inside the cover after the bladder has been inflated, or may be a bladder of the more desirable type, shown in my co-pending application aforesaid, which is ,adapted to be infiated after the bladder insertion opening of the cover has been closed.

Disposed inside the cover and stitched to the cover portions which lie on either side vof the slit or insertion opening 11 are re- '1`he several lines of stitching whereby these reenforcing strips are secured to the cover are illustrated at 13, 14 and. 15. It will be observed that the proximal edges of the reenforcing strips lie flush with the edges of their respective cover members, so that when the margins of the slit 11 are brought into abutting relation the proximal edges of the reenforcing strips will also lie in abutment, as illustrated 1n Fig. 3. Located alongside the slit ory insertion opening 11 and extending through the 'reenforcing strips 12-12 and the cover members by which said strips are carried are two rows of apertures a, b, c, d, etc., and a', bf, c, d', etc., each aperture of each row being paired with and being located, rela tively to the slit 11, directly opposite an aperture ofthe otherl row.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art to which my invention relates that -which is the distinguishing feature of the present invention.

The lace which I prefer to employ is of strong, tough cowhide or rawhide and has' considerable width as compared with its thickness.

In applying the lace, one of its ends is passed from the inside of the cover through one of the apertures a or a, say for instance aperture a', and is then extended across the slit 11 exteriorly of the cover and is passed into the cover through aperture a, The same end of the lace is now extended across slit 11, interiorly of the cover and is again passed through apertures a and a as before, the second exterior portion of the lace passing between the apertures a. and a.

-lying snugly upon and in registry with the first portion and with it constituting a sizable two-ply ridge at right angles to the slit 11. The lace is now adjusted in the apertures a and a. so that its` ends are of substantially the saule length. For convel'iicnee in description, the two substantially equally long ends of the lace will be designated as X and XX. .y

The end X ot' the lace is now passed interiorly of the cover from aperture a to aperture Z; andis passed through aperture 7) and then exteriorly of the cover to and through aperture 7). Similarly the end XX of the lace is extended interiorly withl the cover from aperture ato and through aperture b and thence across slit 11 and through aperture b. yIt will be noted that the portion` of lace endXX which extends exteriorly Aof the cover from aperture b to a erture b lies snugly upon the portion o lace X which is similarly extended between such apertures.

The manner of lacing just described is continued until each of the lace ends X and XX-has been passed through all of the apertures. After this has been accomplished, the ends of the lace are passed upwardly through the right end (Figs. 1 and 2) of the slit 11 and are passed in edgewise contact with each other over the last one of the several ex osed parallel two-ply lace sections, and t en under the rest of said exposed two-ply lace sections, as is clearly illl 'sections is now taken up, with the result that each of the exposed two-ply lace sections lies exactly 'parallel to the others and at right angles to the line of the closed slit 11.

It will be observed that,while that portion of the lacing at the extreme left end of Figs. 1, 2 and 4 might have been made with a single ply, for the sake of providing a uniform exterior surface, thereby permitting a better grip, I prefer to also double l the exterior strand at this point.

It Will be noted that each contiguous fpair of the exposed two-ply lace sections a oresaid may be regarded as constituting the sides of a rectangle having its angles in four of the cover apertures, and that the interior crossed over portions of the lace which pass through said apertures are bisectors of the angles of such rectangle; As a result of this construction, the several exposed two ply portions of the lace are held exactly parallel to each other and at right angles to the'line of the closed slit ll, and with the further result that the cover docs not have any tendency to become hunched at or adjacent to the insertion opening.

While I prefer to hold or secure the extremities of the lace by passing them under the parallel exposed two-ply portions of the lace, as aforesaid, it will be understood that I do not limit myself to this expedient.

What l claim is new and desire to secure b y Letters Patent of the `United StatesA is l.. ln an inflatable ball, a cover 'provided with a slit constituting a bladder insertion opening, a row of spaced apertures in each ol the margins of said slit, each of said apertures being paired with and located directl y opposite an aperture of the other row, and a lace passing through said apertures and comprising a plurality ofportions, each consisting of two flat plies superposed, extending across said slit exteriorly of the cover, and a plurality ot' one-ply crossingportions on the interior of the cover maintaining the parallelism of the exterior` twoply portions aforesaid.

2. In any inflatable ball, a cover provided with a slit constituting a bladder 1nsertion ning, a row of spaced apertures in each o e o? the margins of said slit, each of said 4apertures being paired with an aperture of the other row, and a lace passing through said apertures and comprising a plurality of two-ply portions extending across said slit exteriorly of the cover, and a plurality of one-ply portions each crossing another on the interior of the cover maintaining the parallelism of the external two-ply portions aforesaid.

3. In an inflatable ball, a cover provided with a slit constituting a bladder 1nsertion opening, a roW of spaced apertures adjacent each margin of said-slit, each of said apertures being paired with and located directly opposite an aperture of the other row; and a lace passing through said apertures and comprising a plurality of portions, each consisting of two contiguous parallel plies extending across said slit on one side of the cover, and a plurality of one-ply crossing portions on the other side of the cover maintaining the parallelism of the aforesaid twoplv portions.

ARCHIBALD J. ".rURNit y 

